If you are in London between now and the 15th of May, check out Sotheby’s ‘Inspired by India’ featuring designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. You’ll see some exquisite saris and, a range of specially commissioned shawls and headbands in the ‘Inspired by India’ selling exhibition of contemporary design. And if/when you do go, tell us how it was!
Below is an excerpt from the P.R note:
Sotheby’s highly regarded curator Janice Blackburn shared her verdict on the grandmaster of Indian Fashion in her enunciation on Sabyasachi ,“He is to my mind the finest and most original of the Indian dress and accessory designers. He doesn’t look to the West for his inspiration but rather the colourful low life of India — gypsies, the desert, Bollywood. His work is very Indian but in a way that in the West we understand and appreciate and value.”
On her selection Blackburn says “I visited and travelled extensively in India for many years and am particularly interested in crafts such as weaving, tie-dying, embroidery, enamelling, paper and so on…. It is sad that most of the skills and craft traditions we associate and value in India are dying out and not being passed on to the next generation who prefer to go to the cities. Much of the work is now mass-produced and poor. But there is a new generation of designers who are adapting these traditional skills and using them for well-designed contemporary work. This is what interests me. I have met and worked with several of these designers before. Sabyasachi clearly was someone special. His workmanship is exquisite – all handmade – embroidery, beading,” said Blackburn. “He has the finest aesthetic and stays true to his Indian roots. I have followed his progress since he first began designing and am absolutely thrilled he has agreed to exhibit in ‘Inspired by India’,”
Says Sabyasachi Mukherjee on this selection, “I’m feeling happy that I am being recognised for being Indian, primarily for being myself. I have always said that the only way to become global is to have a local soul. And I am really happy that this is being validated time and again in my career.”
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